Pricing your work

[Glenn]

What method do you use to arrive at a price for your work?

[Rantalin]

I've only been smithing for two years off and on, with college getting in the way/being a priority. As a result I haven't have much practice time, or even time to make anything worth selling. When I do, I usually take the cost of materials and fuel, and add about 20% of the total price. Then I look at how many hours it took me, and multiply by about 7 dollars. I then adjust the price based on its quality, usually down. If I feel as though my formula has produced a severely overpriced estimate, I forget it all and make something up, never going below the cost of materials and fuel. Once I get some real practice time in, and can put all the theory I've accumulated to work, I'll have to develop a new method of pricing.

[Pault17]

I haven't "sold" anything yet. I have been giving it away, pretty much all to family and close friends. I haven't been able to create a base supply of "sellables" to even think about it. Because almost all of my steel has been found or picked up on the side of the road (still looking for the stray peter wright laying around) my biggest cost is propane.

[bipolarandy]

Well, lets say your materials are free (as in scrap metal). You give yourself an hourly rate whatever you think you should pay yourself, ei, $10 dollars an hour or $20 an hour.
And make one or two "time samples" to see how long it takes you to make something and what problems you may face, and corners you can cut,,,, once you have it down pat, you can calcuate how many hours are in a piece.

Blacksmiths get to work with relativly cheap meterials compaired to other craftsman, so I tend not to factor that into pricing my work.

[rthibeau]

I try to be as precise as possible in such matters so I developed the following formula:

Price = [(Material$ + ShopOverhead$ + (Labor$ x .50%))] / [(ChineseTea$ x Gasoline$ x DJIA) - Coffee@$1.50ea] - Client'sVehicle$

then I round up to the nearest $50 and call it good

:rolleyes:

[Nick]

I was never very good at math, what's DJIA?

[Dave Shepard]

I have a system that has the same result as rthibeau, but without the complicated math. I charge whatever I need to pay bills at the time. You wouldn't want me to make you anything this week, my truck just ate a $5,000 tranny.


Dave

PS, I don't actually sell anything, but maybe I should, I'm tired of doing everything for free.

[Joseff]

When I was making the cloak pins, I worked out a rate of trade with my biggest customer. It worked out to about $5 appiece, at his wholesale cost. I got some cool stuff from him.
Joseff

[gerald]

My rule of thumb is $20 per hour of shop time. I don't pay rent on my shop and I don't have any employees. Some "pro's" have to charge up to $60 per hour of shop time to come out.
There are some items that I make that will bring more than the $20 per hour figure, so I charge that. Likewise, there are some things that I build that would never bring that much, so I figure it all evens out.
My greatest fear is putting something out at , say $10, that one of my brother smiths has to have $20 for and be labled a "cheap charlie".

I've heard some very experienced smiths say that they would rather give a piece away than to not charge enough for it.

[rthibeau]

DJIA = Dow Jones Industrial Average = stock market closing data which is almost as relevant to the computation as the price of tea in China....

That and the $1.50 sometimes will get you a cup of coffee.

[Thomas Dean]

Some items I ask my wife what she would be willing to pay, if I think it is too cheap I will adjust some. For the most part I will charge for my time and material. I have seen other smiths sell items for about what I charge but will not hesitate to charge more for the same item if I feel they are too cheap. Was once told by a gentleman that had his work priced fairly high: " Well, I guess they know what their work is worth." I feel the same way and will give it away before I charge too little.(what I think is too little that is) I did offer on man the use of my tools to make his requested item himself since he thought I was a little steep...I ended up doing the job...for my price. Most of the items I make during a demo are given away to some one in the crowd, usually a kid, or to someone that has stayed to watch me make the item. All that said, if I could get Rthibeau's formula down pat I would try it! :)

[Nick]

DJIA = Dow Jones Industrial Average = stock market closing data which is almost as relevant to the computation as the price of tea in China....

That and the $1.50 sometimes will get you a cup of coffee.

Actually, I'd be more concerned about the price of tea in pricing than the Dow Jones :)

[ThomasPowers]

I have an item that would be pretty much a loss to make and sell them if you count the time invilved; *but* is a pretty good item to do at demo's; so I consider the time covered and the profit on the item goes way up!

I too would rather donate a pattern welded knife to a charity auction than to "sell" it for less than what I feel I have put into it...

I have no interest in the price of tea in china---but the cost of it at the local store does factor into my "overhead".

[bruce wilcock]

when pricing a job ,remembre ,your bread costs the same as the customers.

[proudwhitetrash]

for me it depends on the client. if i know them good enough ill ask em what they think is worth. and if its to low i'll reason with them. But for the most part i like to get 20 dollars and hour plus a 20 dollar shop fee plus materials and any other charges that my work there way into the equation. for the most part people are so impress that there willing to shell out what ever the price.

[Mills]

What I am doing so far is to walk through the steps involved and estimate what I think is reasonable, factor in costs that are large such as the bulk of the materials and consumables. I allow a $45 hour shop rate. then I double that. so I also call around and am constantly shopping prices wherever I see something similar. How much you get for an Item depends more on how you present it rather how well you make it. I make stuff that is vastly better than the crap I see sold all over but nobody knows about me. Also in many cases it doesn't matter whether the quality is there, if it is too high it is too high, cheapen the design and quality like Walmart, shudder, or find clients with deeper pockets.

Ain't nothing to this stuff. ;)

[Chris Pook]

Its a very difficult thing to do in a vague scenerio. Depending on where you live/work and the economics around your area. I have a wife and 2 kids to support and earn all my $ fabricating and forging stuff so I have to get $ for my time.

If I can make an average of $50 an hour for a shop rate I'm doing ok and the lights and sometimes the heat can stay on ( I include welding wire, grinding disks and other consumbles in this $50 an hour). I have a hard time surviving making small trinkets (but I haven't try'd more than few art shows/fairs) so I try and stick with larger custom jobs which I have to usually quote, hoping I get it done less time than I expected so I can earn a profit. I figure out my material, and then try and guesstimate either by timing making a rough sample and going off previous jobs how many days it'll take to make. Then I use a $ amount that I need to make for those days worked.

Always include your travel time, estimating, drawing etc in there somewhere. Someone needs to pay for that time and it shouldn't be you.

[firebug]

Right now I am building drive thru gates, walk thru gates, mail boxes and fabricate fences. I generally make 50 - 100 an hour. I am not doing the custom forge work yet but am practicing my skills and attending classes particularly those given by Hofi. I have been outfitting my smithy and have done a decent job so far. I feel if I can't make at least 40 - 50 dollars an hour I don't do it because there is always other work that will allow me to make that kind of profit. But as someone else said, it depends on your location. I live in Montgomery County Alabama where the economy is doing very well. I am going to really start forging this October. That is when I will be finished building my house and I am retiring from the Montgomery Fire Department.

[jj2k]

I have a base shop rate of $30.00 an hour. That is my cost to run my shop an hour. Then I figure the price of the stock used and any parts or hardware purchased. I keep track of every minute I am on that job and every cent I spend on it. I mark up the piece 40% from cost by dividing my cost by .6.
If I am wholesaling the piece I mark it up 20% by taking my cost and dividing by .8. If folks tell me I am too high, I just figure that they are not my customer. I never argue with them. That never pays. Sometimes they ask why I price the way I do. A lot of times when they realize I am not just pulling a number out of the air, they'll buy it. But I figure I am in line cause I don't get a lot of complaints. Sometimes I'll hear I am too cheap....and I always offer to mark it up. Haven't had any takers on that one tho. ;)